The Quad: Challenges to Strategic Cohesion and Its Relevance in the Indo-Pacific

15 Nov 2026

Tags: International Relations   Groupings   Global agreements

Source: The Hindu

Context: The U.S. Secretary of State announced that leaders of the Quad (India, Australia, Japan and the U.S.) are expected to meet in Manila in November 2026, on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit.

• This would be the first Quad Leaders' Summit since Donald Trump began his second presidential term and the first for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
• The previous summit was held in Wilmington in 2024, during the Biden administration.

Quad Amid Strategic Turbulence

• Political uncertainty: The grouping faced strategic turbulence in 2025 due to changing U.S. geopolitical priorities and fluctuations in Washington's bilateral relations with member countries, particularly India.
• Continuity despite differences: Despite the absence of a leaders' summit, the Quad maintained operational cooperation through ministerial meetings and various initiatives.
• Ministerial engagements: Foreign Ministers met twice in Washington in 2025 and three times in 2026, in New Delhi, Manila and Atlanta. The first 2025 meeting marked Marco Rubio's first engagement as U.S. Secretary of State.
• Institutional limitations: The Quad has neither a permanent bureaucracy nor an independent institutional framework. Therefore, leaders' summits are important for reaffirming common objectives and setting the future agenda.

India's Role and Maritime Cooperation

• Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA): The Quad's maritime awareness initiative was elevated to the Indo-Pacific Maritime Surveillance Collaboration framework, launched in New Delhi in May 2026 following the Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting.
• Strategic significance: Such initiatives strengthen maritime surveillance, information-sharing and awareness of activities across the Indo-Pacific, particularly in response to China's expanding maritime presence.
• India's expected hosting: India was expected to host the next Quad Leaders' Summit after the 2024 Wilmington summit, but the political uncertainty within the grouping affected its summit-level engagement.

Challenges Arising from Changing U.S. Priorities

• Shift in geopolitical attention: Since beginning his second term, President Trump has prioritised the Russia-Ukraine war, transatlantic relations, NATO and the conflict in West Asia, creating uncertainty regarding sustained U.S. engagement in the Indo-Pacific.
• Burden-sharing concerns: Trump's demand that allies increase their contribution to transatlantic security has raised concerns among Indo-Pacific partners about the future extent of American security commitments.
• AUKUS uncertainty: The White House's decision to review the AUKUS partnership has further increased uncertainty about the reliability and continuity of U.S.-led security arrangements.
• Continued U.S. importance: Despite these uncertainties, the U.S. remains a critical security actor in the Indo-Pacific, particularly in the Pacific region and the Taiwan Strait.

Regional Responses: Diversification of Security Partnerships

• Japan: Through its One Cooperative Effort Among Nations (OCEAN) framework, Japan is seeking to reshape its post-war security posture by deepening strategic cooperation with partner countries.
• Australia: Strengthening defence partnerships with India, Japan, Southeast Asian countries and Pacific Island countries to counter China's expanding regional influence.
• India: Pursuing multi-alignment, diversifying defence and strategic partnerships with like-minded countries across the Indian Ocean and wider Indo-Pacific.
• Japan-Australia-India (JAI): The Defence Ministers' meeting in Cebu signals the willingness of these countries to deepen defence cooperation irrespective of the nature of U.S. engagement.
• France: Emerging as an additional strategic partner seeking stronger regional ties to maintain a balanced Indo-Pacific security environment.

Strategic Significance of the Indo-Pacific

• China's growing influence: China's expanding maritime footprint and increasingly assertive behaviour have worsened the regional security environment, making collective security cooperation important.
• Taiwan Strait: A major Indo-Pacific geopolitical flashpoint where continued U.S. involvement remains critical for regional stability.
• Security diversification: Uncertainty over U.S. commitments is encouraging regional countries to reduce excessive dependence on a single security partner through diversified strategic relationships.

Significance of the Proposed Manila Summit

• Reaffirming Quad cohesion: A leaders' summit would provide an opportunity to restore political confidence and reaffirm the grouping's shared strategic objectives.
• ASEAN centrality: Holding the summit in Manila reinforces the Quad's commitment to ASEAN centrality, recognising ASEAN's central role in the regional Indo-Pacific architecture.
• Strategic symbolism: The Philippines is at the forefront of maritime and sovereignty disputes with China, particularly in the South China Sea. Hosting the summit there carries strategic significance.
• International law and sovereignty: Quad leaders are expected to reiterate respect for sovereignty in the South and East China Seas and oppose unilateral attempts to undermine international law.
• U.S. strategic reassurance: The summit provides President Trump an opportunity to clarify America's Indo-Pacific priorities and reaffirm its commitment to regional security and opposition to Chinese belligerence.

Important Concepts for UPSC

• Quad: A strategic grouping of India, the U.S., Japan and Australia, revived in 2017 to promote a free, open, inclusive and rules-based Indo-Pacific. It is not a formal military alliance.
• ASEAN Centrality: The principle that ASEAN should remain at the centre of the regional institutional architecture and processes shaping cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.
• Multi-alignment: India's approach of maintaining strategic partnerships with multiple countries without entering exclusive military or geopolitical blocs.
• Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA): Effective understanding of activities and developments in the maritime domain to identify threats, improve maritime security and facilitate information-sharing.
• AUKUS: A trilateral security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, announced in 2021, focusing on advanced defence technologies, including nuclear-powered submarines.
• Indo-Pacific: A strategic and geopolitical region encompassing the Indian and Pacific Oceans, reflecting their growing economic, maritime and security interdependence.